★ 7 / 10
**_Inversion of "The Omen"_** A little girl with
Wuchak
**_Inversion of "The Omen"_** A little girl with awe-inspiring abilities is raised by her aunt, Maggie O'Connor (Kim Basinger), because her mother is a drug…
**_Inversion of "The Omen"_**
A little girl with awe-inspiring abilities is raised by her aunt, Maggie O'Connor (Kim Basinger), because her mother is a drug addict (Angela Bettis). The latter hooks up with a weird cult, led by the arrogant Eric Stark (Rufus Sewell), who wants the child for dubious purposes.
Released in 2000, "Bless the Child" is a thriller/horror that comes across as an inverted "The Omen" with elements of "End of Days." It has the same plot as the contemporaneous "The Calling," but is more sensical.
It's no low-budget production as it cost $40 million to make and was directed by Chuck Russell, who's known for a few fairly significant movies, like "Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors," the remake of "The Blob" and 1994's highly successful "The Mask." Despite this, "Bless the Child" comes across as a Lifetime movie with a higher budget, which explains the film's mediocre ratings.
While I understand this criticism I was able to enter into the world of the characters and enjoy the movie. It's not technically as good as "The Omen" (and some would say that it's sacrilege to even compare them), but I personally prefer "Bless the Child" simply because I like the story, characters and themes better, despite the film's limitations.
Concerning the cast, Kim Basinger was past her physical prime, but she still looks good and she's a likable and compassionate protagonist. Jimmy Smits co-stars as the detective on the case and he's effective, as always. Petite Christina Ricci shines in a small role as a runaway who tries to help Maggie. They're all good, but it's Rufus Sewell who's most memorable as the leader of a cult that mixes elements of LaVeyian Satanism with Sciencefictionology.
The CGI is a mixed bag, some of the effects are pretty good while some are just serviceable, but you have to consider the age of the movie. Regardless, special effects are just icing on the cake; it's the story and characters that count and this is where "Bless the Child" is solid—nothing great or exceptionally good, but solid.
The film runs 1 hour, 47 minutes, and was shot in Toronto, Burlington and Sarnia, Ontario with 2nd unit shots of the Big Apple.
GRADE: B/B-
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★ 6 / 10
Better Than Made Out to Be
gavin6942
Omens and concepts of good vs. evil have no place in Maggie O'Connor's well-ordered, practical universe. Her life revolves around her job as a nurse at a busy…
Omens and concepts of good vs. evil have no place in Maggie O'Connor's well-ordered, practical universe. Her life revolves around her job as a nurse at a busy New York hospital, until one rainy night, her sister Jenna abandons her newborn, autistic daughter at her home.Only 5.0 out of 10? This is what IMDb has given this film (as of June 2015). Not that this is anything amazing, but it is hardly only a flat five. We have Christina Ricci, Angela Bettis, and director Chuck Russell, which should be worth something.We have a priest-turned-cop (sort of like "The Prophecy") which creates this interesting mixture of police procedural and satanic mystery. If done right, this is a great theme. (It is done fairly well here.) And with Rufus Sewell, who is always so evil in his roles? Excellent.
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★ 4 / 10
Messy.
lee_a_scott
What a horrible mess! How Messrs Basinger, Smits, Sewell, Ricci and Holm ended up in this half-assed excuse for a film I'm not sure, but even my profound Ricci…
What a horrible mess! How Messrs Basinger, Smits, Sewell, Ricci and Holm ended up in this half-assed excuse for a film I'm not sure, but even my profound Ricci bias cannot save my opinion of this film. Actually, I'm not being fair the film has good things about it. So, on balance: plot vaguely interesting Omen rip-off with a twist; cast oddly high profile, with only Basinger seeming miscast (she's too wholesome for the part, and just didn't convince at all) and everyone dealing admirably with the clunky dialogue; effects hmmm, file under "really-not-very-special"; direction hmmm, file under "hey, turns out those effects were tremendous compared to the direction!" That was the real issue lame direction. There were lots of positive elements (a semi-gruesome Se7en-esque thriller angle, the aforementioned Omen riff, Christina Ricci) but, instead of mixing and presenting these ingredients to leave us with a tasty pie, we were left with a motley collection of ingredients that didn't hang at all. Amusingly, Rufus Sewell comments on the DVD interviews that he likes this kind of film when it is done well better luck next time, Rufus!
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4%
TOMATOMETER
· 113 reviews
43%
AUDIENCE
· 25K ratings
5.1/10
16.1K
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I love this movie. It's a total guilty pleasure. It's not great by any means, but somehow satisfying...like draining a cyst.